These 10 countries are leading the world in solar energy

In a world that's hungry for energy but increasingly wary of the damage that generating power can do, solar might just be the answer: clean energy that's cheap and virtually endless.

Ranking the top 10 countries with the most solar power capacity is a way to see who's doing it best, and who could do it better.

The numbers come from the International Energy Agency's Trends in Photovoltaic Applications report, and while they only go through 2014, it's the most recent data available. (These numbers tell us who is generating the most raw power from solar, not who is providing the greatest percentage of their nation's energy with solar. And they show who has the greatest capacity installed to deliver solar energy, not how much solar energy is actually being produced.)

What's surprising about this list is that relatively tiny countries are on it. Germany, Japan, Italy — they all rank higher than the US, even though we have much more land.

Solar power, for now anyway, requires a lot of space. So for small countries to be leading the way in overall capacity is impressive.

And it shows how much opportunity there is to install more solar in places that have a lot of open land, like the US.

The total cumulative solar power capacity for the entire world was 177,003 Megawatts — enough to power over 29 million homes.

6. France: 5,678 Megawatts

5. United States: 18,317 Megawatts

Solar Sun Flowers designed by filmmaker James Cameron are pictured at MUSE School in Malibu, California on May 19, 2015. Designed as functional art pieces, the Sun Flowers produce between 75% and 90% of the campus’ power.Jonathan Alcorn/REUTERS

4. Italy: 18,622 Megawatts

Solar panels are seen in a farm near the Sicilian town of Castelbuono, Italy on September 28, 2009.Giuseppe Piazza/REUTERS

3. Japan: 23,409 Megawatts

Solar powered houses in Japan's 'Solar City' are pictured in Ota, 50 miles northwest of Tokyo on October 28, 2008.Yuriko Nakao/REUTERS

2. China: 28,330 Megawatts

Workers walk past solar panels and wind turbines at a newly-built power plant in Hami, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China on September 17, 2015.REUTERS/Stringer CHINA OUT

1. Germany: 38,250 Megawatts

Sheep graze between the panels of a solar park in Waghaeusel, 12 miles southeast of Karlsruhe, Germany, on March 21, 2011.Kai Pfaffenbach/REUTERS